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Coronavirus Information Update
04-07-20 Update: In accordance with the Governor of Oregon's mandate of no gatherings larger than 25 people, all public Masses are cancelled until further notice. See Bishop Cary's Decree below.
We are following the situation closely. As it continues to develop, we will do our best to communicate with you. Updates will be provided here as they become available.During this challenging time Magnificat is honored to provide complimentary access to their online version to help people pray from home.
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DECREE
UPDATE OF DECREE OF 19 MARCH 2020
ON MEASURES IN RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 THREATWhereas it is impossible to know at this date how long the national guidelines on social distancing and Oregon Governor Kate Brown’s prohibition of groups larger than 25 persons will remain in effect, the cancellation of public Masses within The Diocese of Baker is hereby extended from 14 April 2020 to “until further notice.” The dispensation of all the faithful in The Diocese of Baker and other Catholics actually present in The Diocese is likewise extended indefinitely.
I order that this decree and dispensation be made known to all concerned, especially pastors and administrators.
This decree and dispensation take effect immediately.
Given at the Pastoral Center of The Diocese of Baker this 7th day of April 2020, everything to the contrary notwithstanding.
Most Reverend Liam Cary
Bishop of Baker
(Seal)
Very Reverend Richard O. Fischer
Vicar General
Decree (pdf)
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1. "The Easter Triduum . . . cannot be transferred to another time.”
26 March 2020
Dear Brothers and Sisters of the Diocese of Baker,
Grace to you and peace in the midst of world-shaking uncertainty. I hope this finds you in good health and, more importantly, in good spirits, as we continue our journey to Easter through a Lent like no other.
I write to update you on important information regarding upcoming liturgical celebrations from the Congregation for Divine Worship in Rome. (Quotations in the following paragraphs are from the official document unless otherwise specified.)
2. The local bishop may postpone the Chrism Mass to a later date, and that is what this bishop is doing. We’ll wait until the crisis has passed and all the priests can gather fearlessly for the renewal of priestly promises and the blessing of the holy oils. When that will be, no one can say. But the day will come! And we hope you can too.
3. With regard to the Holy Week, “in the Cathedral and in parish churches, though without the physical participation of the faithful, the Bishop and parish priest(s) can celebrate the liturgical mysteries” on the three holy days. “The faithful should be informed of the times of the celebration so that they can prayerfully unite themselves in their homes.” For these occasions “live (not recorded) televisual or internet broadcasts are helpful.”
4. Holy Thursday. “The faculty to celebrate Mass on this day in a suitable place, without the people, is granted in an exceptional manner to all priests. The washing of feet . . . is to be omitted. At the end of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper the procession with the Blessed Sacrament to the place of repose is to be omitted and the Blessed Sacrament is to be kept in the tabernacle.”
5. Good Friday. Insofar as “there is a real possibility of doing so” (that is, without exceeding the number of people permitted at social gatherings when that day comes), “the Bishop/Parish Priest will celebrate the Passion of the Lord. In the Universal Prayer, the Bishop will see to it that there is a special intention for the sick, the dead, for those who feel lost or dismayed.”
6. Easter Vigil. Here too it will be necessary to respect the social gathering limits in force at the time in selecting a much reduced number of servers and lectors. “At ‘The Solemn Beginning of the Vigil’ the preparation and lighting of the fire is omitted, the Paschal Candle is lit, the procession is omitted and the Easter Proclamation (Exsultet) follows. The ‘Liturgy of the Word’ then takes place” as usual. “For the ‘Baptismal Liturgy’ the ‘Renewal of Baptismal Promises’ alone is necessary. The ‘Liturgy of the Eucharist’ then follows.”
7. Easter Sunday. Mass will be celebrated as usual, but without the presence of the people.In a recent memo Archbishop Leonard Blair of Hartford, Chairman of the Bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship, had some additional clarifications. For the Adoration of the Holy Cross on Good Friday, he suggested, “it will surely be best, if more than one person is assisting, to express reverence to the Cross without kissing or touching it. A genuflection or profound bow would be appropriate.”
With regard to the RCIA, Archbishop Blair notes that the Rite itself “includes provision for a delay in the celebration of the sacraments” and other options such as the following:
“the bishop can dispense from the Scrutinies . . . ;” he “can permit an abbreviated form of initiation . . . ; and the rites can be celebrated at other times of the year.” This bishop elects to do all of the above. Therefore, the Rites of Initiation for the 2020 Easter Vigil will not take place in the Diocese of Baker until pastors receive the go-ahead from the bishop. Once we know when it will be possible again to assemble together in Church, each parish will be free to work out its own schedule of initiation to best accommodate its own particular circumstances. We will not attempt to replicate the Easter Vigil—every parish celebrating on the same date—but rather each parish will choose the best date for itself.
Finally, a word about Confirmations. We will not adhere to the current schedule, and there are too many uncertainties to put together another one at present. The new arrangements will probably involve a mixture of my delegating individual pastors to confirm their own parishioners with deanery-wide celebrations (multiple parishes at one time) at which I will officiate. More details when they become possible to devise.
I hope this letter has clarified some uncertainties and relieved some anxieties. There are more than enough of both floating around in the COVID-19 world. But God knows how to bring us through them to peace in His will. Let us pray for the wisdom to follow His lead.
In Christ our Redeemer,
Most Reverend Liam Cary
Bishop of Baker -
March 18, 2020
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
It’s hard to keep pace with the corona virus. The letter I wrote you last week on 13 March limiting Mass attendance to 250 people was out of date only a few days later, when Governor Brown’s directive of 16 March lowered the number for social gatherings in Oregon to 25 for the next four weeks, with the recommendation that it be capped at 10.
It is not realistically possible to restrict the populations of our Sunday assemblies to these numbers; therefore, with great reluctance, I must tell you that all public Masses throughout the Diocese are cancelled through 14 April 2020, and all the faithful of the Diocese of Baker are hereby dispensed from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass during that time.
I take this most unwelcome decision in concert with my fellow bishops throughout the Northwest and much of the United States. With them I recognize that in a time of public emergency it is the government’s paramount responsibility to protect the common good of its citizens, and never more so than when their health and their very lives are gravely endangered.
This year the danger falls during Holy Week and Easter, the most sacred days on our calendar; so the empty churches are painfully difficult to bear. But the Holy Spirit is very much at work in our midst. Throughout the country people are coming up with ways to give us access to the Holy Mysteries even as we are cut off from them. In the parishes and in the Pastoral Center possibilities are beginning to emerge. Our findings will be posted on the diocesan website (www.dioceseofbaker.org) and will be updated frequently. Please come and visit to learn how you can profit spiritually from this season of grace.
Our Lord fasted forty days and forty nights, “and He was hungry.” Lent 2020 brings home to us as never before how we hunger for the Bread of Life and the Word of Salvation. “I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice,” Jesus promises. “I will not leave you orphans.” Recent statistics on COVID-19 show one number is rising: those who have recovered from the virus. Lent leads to Resurrection.In Christ our Redeemer,
Most Reverend Liam Cary
Bishop of BakerLetter (pdf) and Decree (pdf) in English